The Magical Western Ghats........

Here are some pics which i took during a trek to a place called Muthodi. This forest of Muthodi is a place near Chikmagalure, Karnataka. Surrounded by thick dense forest and one of the well known Tiger reserves in Karnataka. 

A walk in the woods of Muthodi forest. Thick and dense forest... Full of green and with a variety of amazing creatures... A wonderful experience in the nature... Got to capture a variety of creatures in this forest of Muthodi, a place near Chikmagalur, Karnataka....

The Malabar Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros griseus) is a hornbill that is endemic to the Western Ghats and associated hills of southern India. They have a large beak but lack the casque that is prominent in other species of hornbills. They are found mainly in dense forest and around rubber, arecanut or coffee plantations. They move around in small groups, feeding on figs and other forest fruits. Their loud cackling and laughing call makes them familiar to people living in the region. Captured at the Muthodi Forest, near Chikmagalur, Karnataka..

Look at these bright colors.... Especially the collar part of this and its bottle green coloured legs... There are more than 1 million species of beetles and this is one of them... Only 4 lac species have been described so far ..... I wish i had a macro lens! Would have got a better pic with better details.. But still managed to get a pic..... This one was shot with a 70-300mm lens, hand held..

A species of Trantula.... A Giant Spider... Tarantulas comprise a group of often hairy and very large arachnids belonging to the Theraphosidae family of spiders, of which approximately 900 species have been identified. Though all tarantulas are venomous, few species have been claimed to cause human fatalities, though some bites cause serious discomfort that might persist for several days. Encountered such species for the first time... ID please... Had an awesome trek... Captured at Muthodi forest, near Chikmagalur, Karnataka..

Here is a species of Trantula.. Giant spiders of the wild... Bites of many species are known to be no worse than a wasp sting, accounts of bites by some species are reported to be very painful and to produce intense spasms that may recur over a period of several days; the venom by the tarantula Pelinobius muticus also causes strong hallucinations. Before biting, tarantulas may signal their intention to attack by rearing up into a "threat posture", which may involve raising their prosoma and lifting their front legs into the air, spreading and extending their fangs, and (in certain species) making a loud hissing by stridulating. Their next step, short of biting, may be to slap down on the intruder with their raised front legs. This is how these spiders try to defend themselves from anything which would harm them. Or could also be said that this is how they scare the predators. Well, here it was warning me to be away.. Its very interesting to understand the behaviour of these.. This was the biggest spider i found till now...

A closer look at the mouth parts of the giant spider found during the trek at Muthodi, near Chikmagalur, Karnataka.. Though all tarantulas are venomous, few species have been claimed to cause human fatalities, though some bites cause serious discomfort that might persist for several days. The bites of many species are known to be no worse than a wasp sting, accounts of bites by some species are reported to be very painful and to produce intense spasms that may recur over a period of several days; the venom by the African tarantula Pelinobius muticus also causes strong hallucinations.

Found a group of Butterflies... If observed closely, you can see one Butterfly laying an egg...

A butterfly from Muthodi forest.... Leaves here give a lighter touch to the pic... Looks like someone has sprayed pink colour over the leaves....

Spotted a Vine Snake.. Fluorescent Green in colour, during an awesome trek to Muthodi, near Chikmagalur, Karnataka. This was one of the best wild life forest trek i had till now....

A Vine Snake.. Fluorescent Green in colour.. Spotted this moving around in the greens... And got to capture it when it came out....

Camouflage.... A reptile at the Muthodi forest, Karnataka... 

Look at this reptile.... Perfect camouflage...... Captured at Muthodi Forest, near Chikmagalur, Karnataka....

A closer look at the Reptile... The way in which it camouflages with the surrounding environment is amazing...

Missing a Macro lens here..... Eyes of this look so beautiful.....

A closer look at the Reptile... Look at the camouflage....

"Bicolored Frog - Breeding Male". The bicolored frog (Clinotarsus curtipes) is a species of frog found in the Western Ghats of India. This frog has a very toad like disposition. The tadpoles of the species are black and form dense and compact schools in slow moving streams in forested areas.

The Bicolored rog (Clinotarsus curtipes), While inhabiting a large range, the species’ numbers are declining. Its habitat is razed to make way for large plantations. It is also in danger of road deaths during its breeding season when it migrates to breeding areas. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists it as near threatened and India is setting the stage for recovery efforts by listing it as a protected species. While subject to risks of human activity, bicolored frogs evade predators by playing dead!

HARD WORK......!! A beetle trying to move the food which it stores for next few days.... Look at the way it moves... The weight of the object is more than the body weight of the beetle.. Hence, it moves it with its hind legs. As, hind legs has more power...

Tiny little Beetles....

A Giant wood Spider....

Some insect.... It just had laid its egg over the leaf..... Captured at the Muthodi Forest, near Chikmagalur, Karnataka...

Some insect... Look at the body colors and the construction of the same.....!!

A leaf insect.....

A Giant Wood Spider... Captured while constructing its web...

A closer look at the Malabar Squirrel climbing straight upwords the tree... It hardly stays on the ground..... Captured at Muthodi Forest, near Chikmagalur, Karnataka....

A closer look at the Malabar Squirrel.... Captured at Muthodi Forest, near Chikmagalur, Karnataka....

Dew drops during the early mornings in Muthodi forest.....

The cutest looking bird... Known as Oriental Eye or Silver eye... Famous for the Silver ring around its eye....

An oriental Eye... Also know as the Silver Eye.... A tiny bird....

A Snail on its journey.....

Dew drops at Muthodi forest........

I guess this one is a Cricket...... Look at the amazing eyes and its body construction.....

SUSPENDED IN AIR..... This was the most difficult to focus.... This one was suspended in the air... If closely observed, a very thin thread can be seen.... Such pics are very tricky, as it becomes very difficult to focus, as even slight blow of air makes the subject to move. and with deep background, it becomes even more difficult when shooting with a 300mm lens.....!! Managed to get this pic some how....!!

A Malbar Squirrel... The giant squirrel which never touches the ground.....

Peacocks at the Muthodi forest....

A reptile, resting on the leaf... 

Malabar Squirrel.... Captured at Muthodi Forest, near Chikmagalur, Karnataka....

The dragonfly is an insect that has inhabited the earth for several years – almost 300 million years to be exact. There are more than 5000 species of dragonflies that exist today.

What a place to walk this is.... Lush green everywhere........

This is a dung beetle. They belong to three basic groups - rollers, tunnelers and dwellers. The rollers shape pieces of dung into balls and roll them away from the pile. They bury their ball to either munch on later or to use as a place to lay their eggs. Tunnelers bury the dung treasure by tunneling underneath the pile. And dwellers actually live inside dung piles.Dung beetles are part of nature's clean-up crew.

Captured a different species of monkey........

Some kind of worm... pretty big in size.... When disturbed, it coils and has a pretty hard body covering.... Check out the next pic for the coils...

The worm when disturbed, coils in this way... Nature has given this defensive mechanism to overcome its predators.... 

Wondering what this must be... An insect???? Or the Exoskeleton of an insect????? Looks like its totally empty inside......!!

An insect which looks bit different... Captured at the Muthodi Forest, near Chikmagalur, Karnataka....